


An Itch in His Mind

by Nefaria_Black



Series: To Live in the Shadows [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Canon Compliant, Death Eaters, Gen, Insanity, Legilimency, Light Angst, Prompt Fic, Regret, Wormtail - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 07:17:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13922097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nefaria_Black/pseuds/Nefaria_Black
Summary: Rodolphus enjoys the descent into madness of a fellow Death Eater





	An Itch in His Mind

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts and Challenges to be found at the end  
> Enjoy, please drop me a review, it keeps me going

**An Itch in His Mind**

_Malfoy Manor, January 1997_

 

He finds the rat mumbling to himself, crouched in a corner of the room. Rodolphus was hoping for some peace and quiet after calming Bella, but he will relinquish his needs if he can bear witness to the disintegration of this most fowl, undeserving creature.

He keeps his hands on his ears, scratching his scalp with filthy nails. His teeth dig in on his bottom lip, now bearing what’s an ulcer in its own right.

_Master has been at work. Teaching his pet rat that shortcomings come with pain. I wonder if he will ever serve the rat as dinner to his familiar._

He holds his thoughts as the mumbling becomes something he can discern. Words at first, then half sentences, eventually a whole one.

“Wormtail… right, Scabbers… displeased… unworthy… crossed your friends… sorry Master… you shouldn’t have betrayed your friends.”

 _So the rat still has a conscience_ , Rodolphus muses. He is tempted to meow, maybe Conjure a cat out of thin air and see what happens. This creature should not be allowed in the same room as them, this creature should not bear the mark that sets the dark elite apart. But that is a secret he commits to the deepest recesses of his mind, under layers and layers of shields. He will not doubt his Master in his judgement. For he wants the rat to feel the burn of the snake and skull on its forearm, to screech under his command, to serve him, and the Dark Lord shall have everything he wishes, and they with him.

The rodent keeps going, completely unaware of his presence. He wonders, in between more mumbling about Scabbers and Wormtail, if he still remembers his name. His given name, his family’s name. He wonders what sort of cat he should Conjure. A tabby? A Siamese? Maybe a black cat. He laughs inwardly, thinking that Bellatrix would Conjure a whole bag of half-kneazle cats and set them loose on Wormtail.

He decides to put an end to all the inarticulate sentences pouring out of the rat’s mouth. He just won’t use cats.

“Peter? What’s wrong?”

All speaking comes to a halt. His finger nails scratch and scratch and scratch, digging, while his breathing loses all rhythm. A scared little mouse. And then his eyes go wide, focusing on the man at the door. Rodolphus is quite sure Wormtail can only make out his outline against the light, none of his features visible, which should make for some interesting thoughts. He decides to take a peek into his mind, shattered as it is there will be no walls, no voids, no falling depths to stop him.

And he finds something glorious in there. Thoughts of Wormtail, and Padfoot, and Moony, and Prongs. All with faces he recognizes, two already dead, and two that won’t make it past the war. Wormtail doesn’t seem capable of discerning between the living and the dead though. The thoughts in his mind whirl and whirl, unable to connect properly, clinging to reality and never really finding it. _Peter, he called me Peter,_ Rodolphus listens to, in a voice that used to be a schoolboy’s, _no one calls me Peter anymore._ And then all thoughts subside as one clear idea comes to the front of that broken mind.

“Padfoot? Is that you, Padfoot? I missed you, I’m so sorry.”

Rodolphus feels like throwing his head back in laughter. Of course he thinks of him as Sirius. Old blood runs deep. None of Wormtail’s other friends would stand like that, nonchalant and commanding at the same time.

He keeps some of his focus on the rat’s mind as he prods it once more, almost poking it. He plays Sirius. He plays an alive, forgiving Sirius, snorting a bit at that idea.

_Forgiving Blacks! As if._

“I missed you too, Wormtail. Why are you sorry?”

A string of images passes the broken man mind in quick succession, while Rodolphus struggles to keep up. He does catch details here and there. Potter, that the rat thinks of as Prongs, with a red haired woman. Their Master, before the fall. The scorching pain of a Dark Mark.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, but I had to. He will kill me. I don’t want to die.”

The images keep coming. The rat is stuck in a wheel made of past regrets and ghosts, mingling time lines and fusing happenings together.

“This is not going to work. I don’t know why we keep trying, it never works.”

Utterly lost, the little mouse in its wheel.

“What isn’t going to work, Wormtail?”

“Our plans. Escaping. There’s no escape. You can’t run from the dark, it always catches up with you. You can’t run from him.”

“No, you can’t.”

He approaches the rat, setting him free to run with a Cheshire cat smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts and Challenges  
> Creative Collection Challenge: Pairing - Peter Pettigrew; Dialogue - This is not going to work. I don’t know why we keep trying, it never works  
> Caffeine Awareness Challenge: Corretto - (word count) 810 words  
> 365 Prompts Challenges: 96.Dialogue - "I missed you”


End file.
